Mission Moment: Heart of the Hub
The Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools works with students throughout the district, providing opportunities for community service and to gain knowledge about the nonprofit world. Annually the foundation interviews and selects a BCPS student to serve as a student intern, working alongside the headquarters staff and volunteers to learn and grow as they look forward to graduation and the next steps of their life’s journey. This school year, Macie Burnham, a senior at Chesapeake High School, is the heart of the foundation’s HUB – the Exchangeree: Gizmos and Gadgets Galore in Rosedale/Golden Ring, one of the two collaborative educator resource centers for BCPS educators. Macie has been serving as the 2022-2023 student intern since the summer of 2022.
As you can imagine, it takes a village to keep these two centers open and operating in an efficient and organized manner. That is where Macie begins her work. Every Tuesday, Macie joins the Education Foundation staff and volunteer coordinators at the Exchangeree: Gizmos and Gadgets Galore in Rosedale/Golden Ring for a day of learning. Her daily work schedule begins by greeting staff and preparing to receive donations from community partners. As donations arrive, she unpacks, categorizes, and then shelves them in the appropriate locations. She ensures that donation slips are accurately completed and that donors are presented with their receipt for tax purposes – after posing for a picture, of course, as the foundation always captures the moment to extend gratitude. When guests arrive for meetings and visits, she greets them, provides them with a tour of the facility, and addresses their questions. On shopping days, Macie can be found assisting teachers and staff with finding items for their students and classrooms, packing boxes and bags of goodies selected, checking teachers out, and assisting them to their cars. Her bright and sunny smile is contagious as she makes everyone feel welcome and warms their hearts.